On The Road...

Someone asked me about my blog; about visiting all of these places and writing about them, and whether or not I actually enjoy the process of going from "Point A" to "Point B".

Well, I really do enjoy "the drive". I love being behind the wheel, especially if I'm going somewhere I've never been before, going to see something I've never seen before. And, when I'm able to get some down time, I really do enjoy editing the photos I took and writing my blog. It's just a way for me to share what I've seen, understanding that, sadly, most people either won't, or won't be able to, take the time to see it for themselves.

For me, though, what's sometimes equally enjoyable is seeing those things that "just happen" along the road. If I'm lucky, I'll grab a shot but, more often than not, I end up not getting a shot of something I'll probably never see again.

C'est la vie, no?

Well, this installment of "Travels & Tribulations" will have no theme other than "On The Road". Contained herein are some of the more unusual, quirky, weird, nutty, silly, stupid and funny things I've seen along the road. I'm not here to justify or explain them. If anything, I'm here to make fun of them, and only because they caught my attention.

Enjoy:



I'd been behind this van for only about a quarter mile when I watched this canoe fly off the trailer. Thankfully it was tethered to the trailer, lest it be dispatched into a million fiberglass shards by a 1999 Ford Explorer Sport...

The people in the van finally got the driver's attention after about a half mile...

What?

I love the "do it yourself" touch-up blue paint job on this Caddy. Gotta' love the South...

It's a palace. And it's made of corn...

Unfortunately, I saw far more of these critters laying on the side of the road during this trip...

A cautionary tale, perhaps?

This restaurant, in Wallace, Idaho seems to have a bit of an identity crisis...

This restaurant was featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives" on the Food Network...

And it was CRAZY good... Thanks for the tip, Beth!

This is what my passenger seat looked like for the majority of my drive from Portland to Pennsylvania...

Leaving the snow behind in Montana... In June...

There's a lot to be said for going the other way...



You know those huge windfarms with those huge windmills that have huge windmill parts?
Well, here ya' go...

There really is a town named "Metropolis". It's in Illinois. And, yes, he really is there...

Enjoying a cup of coffee at The Knuckle Saloon in Sturgis, South Dakota...

 

I don't ride a motorcycle but, if I did, I'd be this guy...

This is the White Lake Mansion House on Route 17-B in Bethel, New York. I'm always amazed, and a little bit saddened, when I see something as grand as this property fall into such a profound state of disrepair. Plans are in the works to raze this house, which has stood for 165 years, and replace it with a new resort. Ahhhhh, progress...

This photo was taken somewhere in western North Carolina...

Sometimes you find things on your journey which, despite how hard you try, escape a rational explanation...

This was in the gift shop at Devil's Tower. I'm not entirely sure why...

This is one of the countless tunnels you'll find in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. I love tunnels...

When I first saw the board on the right in a thrift store, I thought it was a surfboard. That would've been unusual, seeing as Florence, Montana doesn't get much surf. But it's a 6' long skateboard. And it was $600.00...

Train ain't got no tracks... But with a little work, this would be a killer diner...

I can't look at this picture and not think of the television show "Fast & Loud"...

I passed a lot of "Welcome to..." signs on my trip cross country. Wyoming had one of the more impressive ones...

The St. Louis Arch, along the banks of the Mississippi River...

The Old Courthouse...

The only good way to see it is to go...

I love shooting old barns, and there were plenty of them to shoot in America's heartland...

A gift shop for fireworks... Awesome. Only in the south...

Somewhere in Ohio, this barn celebrates Ohio's Bicentennial...

The entrance to the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel on the Pennsylvania Turnpike...

I knew I'd been on the road a while, but I had no idea I'd driven that far...

 

A barn in rural northeastern Pennsylvania. I had to do almost nothing to this shot...

Hey, even cows get hot...

And, sometimes, things just kinda' sneak up on ya'...

The road can be another world sometimes. Whether you're screaming across South Dakota or taking a break in a Kansas City eatery, the things you can see can be pretty amazing. Like I always say, though, there are a lot of things to see out there. You just need to get out there and find them.

Happy trails...